Researchers are particularly interested in finding out what residents think about car parking availability and car parking policies in their local area.

The project’s lead researcher, Dr Elizabeth Taylor, said many residents might be aware that most new housing developments were obliged to provide a set number of off-street parking spaces, yet in some areas, there were still shortages of on-street parking spaces.

“Not everyone wants a car parking space all of the time – they might not even have a driver’s license yet,” said Taylor, who is a Research Fellow with RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research.

“However, some homes have more cars than before, and struggle to find parking spaces.”

Car parking in residential areas has recently become a vigorously debated issue, particularly in Melbourne.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal's recent decision to reject the approval of the Nightingale development in inner-city Brunswick because of its failure to provide parking has raised the profile of the debate.

Car parking provision is often a key issue raised when new housing developments are mooted in Australian cities, with many in the community divided as to whether the answer is to provide more car parking, or to stop or restrict new housing developments.

This online survey is the first step in gathering data to understand community experiences of car parking in Australian cities.